All ready for the Go! Girls camp!

Go! Girls Camp
by Marjorie Lim

Nine girls showed up eagerly in the east of Singapore for the start of their long-awaited annual Go! Girls’ Camp.

From past experience, they knew that it was to be a weekend of fun, fresh-air and friendship, with plenty of learning experiences of the non-academic kind. The best part of all was that they would get to be with their friends and make new ones. Parents and family are great, but to get away for an all-girl weekend once a year is pretty much a thrill for a ‘tween! The goals of the camp this year were to equip the girls in the following abilities: to make good use of free time; improve and discover skills; grow in virtues and relate to others.

	Aloha Bungalow, our home for 3 days!

After ice-skating, they made their way out to an Aloha Changi bungalow. From the first moment, they knew that they would enjoy the camp, but it depended very much on how they took care of each other and supported the leaders with their duties. This made them more involved and full of initiative.

Upon arrival, they were presented with the camp programme and responsibilities. One of the activities would consist of recording a short movie by choosing a topic from a list they would be given the following day. However, their imagination would not tolerate delay. In a few hours, they had almost finished the plot of their skits.

	One of our rooms.

Each one had an assignment and was responsible for it: setting the table for lunch, checking the lights and the air-conditioner, sweeping the floor of the entrance, and so on. For those 3 days, the house was theirs. Did they rise to the occasion? The following anecdote answers that. The girls had been told to conserve electricity throughout the camp. One morning, the youngest participant, Katherine, approached camp leader, Carol, and asked her, “Are you going to use your room? Because the air-con is on. If you want, I can switch it off.” She had really been keeping an eye on things!!

Besides assignments and virtues formation, there were activities such as cooking (Mexican tortillas), learning about etiquette and playing with “water bombs”. They also had a talk on sexuality education and enjoyed a movie together at night.

Fussing over Leila's beautiful Caucasian hair.

The parents and the rest of their family members also had a chance to participate in the camp. On the last day they were invited for pot-luck lunch and video viewing of the skits that the girls had recorded, each skit of which had a moral. The parents were thrilled to see what their children had come up with. With that, the three-day-two-night camp had come to an end.

Besides the mosquito bites and the typical discomforts of not being at home, all the girls felt that it had been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Their main complaint: the camp had been too short! Well, that’s one area to work on for Camp 2010!

Go! Girls Club is for girls aged 11-14. Its purpose is to help pre-teen girls develop human virtues, to strengthen and build good character and leadership qualities, in a spirit of fun and warm friendship. Activities take place on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month and include workshops, outdoor sport and talks on character formation. Interested? Contact Marjorie 98473459 or Isabella 96742553.